I would also suggest a multi-tool, not necessarily Fein. I would recommend a Milwaukee which is cordless and comes with two batteries which I was amazed how they last - for a much lesser price (tool and blades). The important piece is the kind of blade, and I would suggest you get 2 or 3 of the half-circle shaped ones with many small teeth - they have worked very well for me to cut thru glass - use a back and forth motion with them. Have a vacuum going at the same time with the nozzle close to the tool and you'll remove the glass cleanly in no time at all.

I guess I find it hard to believe that a bandage of glass over the chain-plate on the hull is all their is to it.
Is it possible they are relying in part on 5200?
Does polyester resin stick that well to SS?

Did they do some tricks like put some holes in the stainless so the resin would form keys?

The chain plates in this one look like they have bars or rods welded to them, to form the upside down T shape that you see, which is than glassed into the hull. If the plates don't break they would have to rip out all of that glass before they pulled out the T shape bars and therefor don't have to rely on the bond between the fiberglass and the stainless. As SVTatia pointed out the Luders 33 use a different method of doing essentially the same thing (i.e. not relying on the bond between fiberglass and metal but rather fiberglass to fiberglass. Make sense?

I would also suggest a multi-tool, not necessarily Fein. I would recommend a Milwaukee which is cordless and comes with two batteries which I was amazed how they last - for a much lesser price (tool and blades). The important piece is the kind of blade, and I would suggest you get 2 or 3 of the half-circle shaped ones with many small teeth - they have worked very well for me to cut thru glass - use a back and forth motion with them. Have a vacuum going at the same time with the nozzle close to the tool and you'll remove the glass cleanly in no time at all.

Yes the cheap tools work fine, but the cheap blades don't last at all. A couple of uses in soft wood and the "Workmate" (Loews house brand) brand blade was shot. Though the $35 Workmate brand tool works quite well. I have borrowed a Fein, and it seemed to operate a bit smoother, but did not work any better on my projects. And with all the fiberglass dust, that may just do in the tool anyway. The Harbor Freight multi tools seem to have it's fans as well.

It is obviously OK as it has lasted a long time on a lot of different boats. I'm just trying to understand the loads.
The mast is pushing down that makes sense.
The chain-plates are pulling up.
Some portion of the load however is attempting to make the boat narrower.
I see a lot of boats that have the chain plates connected to a bulkhead.
The bulkhead is tabbed into the hull distributing the load.
The bulkhead often has a small beam that goes across the whole boat again distributing the load.

In this case the load attempting to make the boat narrower has to be taken by the deck.

I'm not saying it is a problem unless of course you had a soft deck.

I guess I find it hard to believe that a bandage of glass over the chain-plate on the hull is all their is to it.
Is it possible they are relying in part on 5200?
Does polyester resin stick that well to SS?

Did they do some tricks like put some holes in the stainless so the resin would form keys?

What I'm saying is that a SS bar bolted to a bulkhead makes sense to me. It is obviously strong.

This kind of construction has stood the test of time so must be pretty good, I'm just trying to understand it.

It is a very strong way to attach chainplates if done properly. With a well built hull and deck there are no issues. It is not a bandaid of glass holding them in - the force is straight up pretty much for the uppers and inward slightly for the lowers. The chainplate's force is basically upwards and the overlap of the hull and deck (hopefully not just screwed together) places a good thickness of glass stopping upward movement. The Spencer 35 uses basically the same method except it is a bar that runs fore and aft and not as far down the hull and it has stood the test of time as well as long voyages by Hal Roth, Paul Lim and others.

But with modern knowledge of crevice corrosion it is a lousy way to attach the plates leaving any corrosion hidden from view. With chainplates being hard to seal over time moisture will eventually get in and corrosion will follow.

This kind of construction has stood the test of time so must be pretty good, I'm just trying to understand it.

Actually it hasn't. It stands the test of about 25 or so years and then presents a HUGE nasty problem to the owner at that time - keep following the thread to see how nasty. The worst part of it is that it precludes inspecting the chains for crevice corrosion.

I, myself, personally intend to continue being outspoken and opinionated, intolerant of all fanatics, fools and ignoramuses, deeply suspicious of all those who have "found the answer" and on my bad days, downright rude.

Simplest solution is on the outside of the hull. Without a bulkhead in each plate's location there are no other options I can see except the original method. That was probably the reason it was done this way to start with - without knees which would have been in the way of interior cabinetry or bulkheads at the right place it allows placement anywhere the builder wanted.

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